Kim Jong-il Passes Away: End of an Era in North Korea

Kim Jong Il, the mercurial and enigmatic North Korean leader whose iron rule and nuclear ambitions dominated world security fears for more than a decade, has died at the age of 69.
Kim's death 17 years after he inherited power from his father was announced on Monday by the state television from the North Korean capital, Pyongyang.
Kim's longtime pursuit of nuclear weapons and his military's repeated threats to South Korea and the United States have stoked fears that war might again break out or that North Korea might provide weapons of mass destruction to terrorist movements.
Kim is believed to have suffered a stroke in 2008 but he had appeared relatively vigorous in photos and video from recent trips to China and Russia and in numerous trips around the country carefully documented by state media.
Principle of Self-Reliance
Kim Jong Il inherited power after his father, revered North Korean founder Kim Il Sung, died in 1994. He had been groomed for 20 years to lead the communist nation founded by his guerrilla fighter-turned-politician father and built according to the principle of "juche," or self-reliance.
In September 2010, Kim Jong Il unveiled his third son, the twenty-something Kim Jong Un, as his successor, putting him in high-ranking posts. Even with a successor, there had been some fear among North Korean observers of a behind-the-scenes power struggle or nuclear instability upon the elder Kim's death.
Unknowable Figure
Called the “Dear Leader” by his people, Kim, the son of North Korea’s founder, remained an unknowable figure. Everything about him was guesswork, from the exact date and place of his birth to the mythologized events of his rise in a country formed by the hasty division of the Korean Peninsula at the end of the Second World War.
North Koreans heard about him only as their “peerless leader” and “the great successor to the revolutionary cause.” Yet he fostered what was perhaps the last personality cult in the Communist world. His portrait hangs beside that of his father, Kim Il-sung, in every North Korean household and building. Towers, banners and even rock faces across the country bear slogans praising him.
Country’s Nuclear Arms Arsenal
Kim was a source of fascination inside the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), which interviewed his mistresses, tried to track his whereabouts and psychoanalyzed his motives. And he was an object of parody in American culture.
Kim Jong-il was also a driver of the secret nuclear weapons program, which continued with secret help from Pakistan's A.Q. Khan network after a 1994 agreement with the Clinton administration supposedly froze all developments.
Kim sought to build up the country’s nuclear arms arsenal, which culminated in North Korea’s first nuclear test explosion, an underground blast conducted in October 2006. Another test came in 2009.
Mass starvation among the North Korean population, after the collapse of the Soviet Union ended critical external aid and floods ruined successive crops, did not divert Kim from his cultivation of the Korean People's Army, under his ''Songun'' (army first) doctrine.
Role as Defense Chief
Kim's role as chairman of the National Defense Commission, commanding the army, became more important than the general-secretary role in the Worker's Party. Frequent on-the-spot ''guidance sessions'' and sharing of meals with frontline soldiers were aimed at reinforcing personal loyalty among the soldiers.
The death comes at a sensitive time for North Korea as it prepares for next year's 100th anniversary of the birth of founder Kim Il Sung - Kim Jong Il's father. The preparations include massive construction projects throughout the city as part of Kim Jong Il's unfulfilled promise to bring prosperity to his people.
Seoul and Washington will worry that Kim Jong Un 'may feel it necessary in the future to precipitate a crisis to prove his mettle to other senior leaders', according to Bruce Klingner, an Asia analyst at The Heritage Foundation think tank in Washington.
Personal Interests
Kim was said to have cultivated wide interests, including professional basketball, cars and foreign films. He reportedly produced several North Korean movies as well, mostly historical epics with an ideological tinge.
A South Korean film director claimed Kim even kidnapped him and his movie star wife in the late 1970s, spiriting them back to North Korea to make movies for him for a decade before they managed to escape from their North Korean agents during a trip to Austria.
Kim rarely travelled abroad and then only by train because of an alleged fear of flying, once heading all the way by a luxury rail car to Moscow, indulging in his taste for fine food along the way.
One account of Kim’s lavish lifestyle came from Konstantin Pulikovsky, a former Russian presidential envoy who wrote the book The Orient Express about Kim’s train trip through Russia in July and August 2001.
Paroxysm of Grief
Kim's death was unlikely to plunge the country into chaos because it already was preparing for a transition. Kim Jong Il indicated a year ago that Kim Jong Un would be his successor, putting him in high-ranking posts. North Korea will now go into a paroxysm of grief that may continue until the 100th anniversary of Kim Il-sung's birth in April.

Human Rights Violation in Kashmir

The entire world is observing World Human Rights Day on December 10 at a time when 64 years have passed and neither the Palestinians have got their right of liberation and nor the United Nations has granted the right of self-determination to the Kashmiris in accordance with resolutions adopted by the same. Women, children, and men are plunged into darkness in both parts of the Islamic world. The world is enjoying a sound sleep by depriving them the oppressed of comfort and ease, or observes World Human Rights Day once a year to cover up their long-forgotten duty and then again go into a deep slumber.
Horrendous Facts and Figures
When we analyze Kashmir from the point of view of human rights violations, such horrendous facts and figures emerge that they move our hearts. These are the latest figures and it can be guessed that how horrific atrocities the Indian forces are perpetrating on oppressed and wronged Kashmiris. These facts and figures are of the period from 1989 to 30 November.
Hold your heart and have a look at them. Killed (men) 90,178; killed (women) 4,255; missing (men) 8,979; missing (women) 1,335; injured (men) 554,937; injured women (24,011); detained (men) 222,300; detained (women) 4,149; incidents of molestation of women, 9,908; widowed women, more than 25,000; orphan children more than 60,000; graves of unknown people, 2,700; killed people's graveyards more than 5,500; and 1,04,801 ruined homes.
Withdrawal of Indian Forces
The general situation in Occupied Kashmir (India-Administered Kashmir) is such that 800,000 Indian troops have been given open license to massacre unarmed Kashmiris, rape women, and destroy properties under the protection of savage and black laws like Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Act (TADA), Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA), and PSA.
The entire state has been turned into a military camp and all the cities, towns, villages, and streets appear to be under curfew, baton charge, reckless use of teargas, and echoes of bullets. Gatherings of hundreds of thousands of people appear to be demanding the full withdrawal of the Indian forces from Kashmir, and an end to coercive occupation.
Even some conscientious Indian intellectuals like Arundhati Roy, Gotam Naulakha, Justice Sachar, and the Indian negotiators, who came to Kashmir, have expressed their final opinion that the Kashmiris do not want to live with India at any cost, now. During his recent visit to India, US President Barack Obama termed Kashmir disputed and a resolvable issue, contrary to the Indian desire. Linking mediation with the willingness of the two countries, the United States urged the immediate resolution to the issue through bilateral talks. The decisive power of South Asia: China, has also termed Kashmir disputed territory and has refused to grant visa to Kashmiris on the Indian passport. Even, it refused to grant visa to the Indian General Jaswal on the ground that he assumed command in disputed Kashmir. The supreme head of Iran, Ayatullah Ali Khamene'i termed Kashmir and Palestine resolvable issues and urged for the support of Islamic world. Former Libyan President Qadhafi urged the resolution to the Kashmir issue from the UN forum. The EU and its parliament has time and again stressed on honorable resolution to the Kashmir issue. Thus, international pressure is mounting on India for an immediate solution of the Kashmir issue, but the human rights violations see no decrease.
On one hand, India tries to crush the peaceful struggle of the Kashmiri people in the backdrop of international pressure, and on the other, it is expanding its military occupation and plundering Kashmir's resources. Approximately 800,000 troops are stationing on 2800,000 Kanal of land, whereas gardens, picnic spots, and forests are being forcibly taken into custody for more land. Only in Shopian District, 5,200 Kanal of forest land was occupied and 300,000 to 400,000 trees were cut. The local people are not allowed to install wood cutting or grazing machines while the troops are busy in getting furniture prepared from precious timber and are sending it to their native homes. Timber worth billions of rupees has been sent to interior India to date and the process continues.
Struggle of Kashmiri People
Similarly, power worth billions of rupees is being generated through power projects on water resources of Kashmir and 88 percent of it is being sold to Haryana, Rajasthan, Punjab, and Delhi whereas only 12 percent is being provided to the people of the state. India is also pursuing a strategy under a preconceived plan to change the Muslim majority of the state by a full scale cultural invasion along with political and military domination. The forces have set up a network of schools in the name of "Sadhwana" where an attempt is being made to mold innocent students and girl students into the Indian color through the Hindu education system and training.
Jammu Province of the state, where Muslims and Hindus are living in mixed population, the local administration and police force are playing a shameful and gruesome role to harass and terrify Muslims in collaboration with local sectarian organizations like the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevek Sangh), Shiv Sena, Bajrang Dal, and BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party), and they are practically being forced to migrate while attempt is being made to settle Sharnartheon (as published) in their place to change the Muslim majority identity of the state. Such demographic changes can have adverse effect on possible plebiscite. However, the international community is also mum on this.
We believe that being the main party to the issue, Pakistani Government should stand firm in its 64-year-old principled stand and should provide all its support to the liberation struggle of Kashmiri people. The historic struggle of Kashmiri people should be highlighted through full-scale diplomatic campaign and by activating media besides exposing the Indian atrocities and highhandedness on every forum of the world. How horrible is that the United Nations did not make any reference to Kashmir in the list of disputed territories its published this year because this issue has not cropped up for discussion for three years in a row, i.e., from January 2007 to 2010. It is a grave criminal negligence by Pakistan on diplomatic-level. We believe that the Kashmir issue should be the nucleus of Pakistan-India relationship like in the past. Talks should not be held with India until it gives up its traditional obstinacy and unrealistic approach and accepts the disputed and central status and tripartite status of the Kashmir issue. More than 150 rounds of talks have been held during the past 64 years, but these remained futile. Whenever the talks are held, then these should be Kashmir-centric and tripartite. This is not a border dispute that can be resolved through talks between the two countries. It is the issue of political future of 135 million Kashmiris and they are the prime and the most important party to this issue. Their direct participation in talks is inevitable.
Demand of Situation
The people of state have made this reality clear time and again that nothing, except full independence, is acceptable to them. Internal autonomy, division of state, or cross-border trade of potatoes or onions is not the resolution to the issue. The Kashmiris do not want any thing except full independence and this is the cause for which 125,000 sons of the soil have laid down their lives so far.
This should be noted that Kashmiris are not willing to budge an inch from their stance. They appeal to the entire world today, on the occasion of World Human Rights Day, to play its role in stopping the human rights violations in Kashmir and exert pressure on India for the resolution to the issue. If not, the international community should stop observing Human Rights Day because such violations are not stopped by seminars and walks but by something practical will have to be done for this. The world is negligent of its role to a great extent.

Importance of BRIC

The importance of Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC) in the world economy has increased manifold since the acronym was first coined nearly seven years ago. Few could have imagined then how the American economy would collapse and bring down with it much of the rest of the world. It is worth revisiting the original formulations on the significance of these four major countries that were made by representatives of a major American investment bank — now a much-maligned tribe and justifiably so — to understand why these economies would together influence the future of the planet we live in.
In October 2003, a report by two economists then employed by Goldman Sachs, Dominic Wilson and Roopa Purushothaman, argued that over the next half-century, the four countries of Brazil, Russia, India and China would become a much larger force in the world economy than the Group of Six (G6) developed countries, namely, the United States of America, Japan, Germany, France, Italy and the United Kingdom. According to the report, in 2050, India’s economy would be the third largest in the world after China and the United States. However, in terms of per capita income measured in US dollars, India would come last among the 10 countries being compared.
Economic Stability
The four BRIC economies taken together would be bigger than the G6 by 2039, it was pointed out. By 2025, these countries could account for over half the size of the G6 whereas the combined Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the four economies were worth less than 15 per cent at the time the report was written.
The report predicted that in terms of US dollars, China would overtake Germany by 2007, Japan by 2015 and the United States by 2039. India’s economy could be larger than all but the United States and China in 30 years and Russia would overtake Germany, France, Italy and the United Kingdom. Of the current G6 countries, only the US and Japan may be among the six largest economies in the world by 2050.
What is noteworthy is that the Goldman Sachs report pointed out that India has the potential to show the fastest rates of growth over the next 50 years compared to the other nine nations. The real rate of growth of India’s GDP could be higher than five per cent over the next 30 years and close to five per cent till as late as 2050, the report claimed. India would be the only country among the BRIC economies recording growth rates significantly above three per cent per year. These figures appear rather conservative today — the Indian economy has grown by over nine per cent four years in succession and even at a time when the world economy is in recession, the most pessimistic estimate of this country’s GDP growth rate would be four to five per cent.
Goldman Sachs Report
It is important to note the downside that was mentioned in the Goldman Sachs report. Despite much faster growth, individuals in the BRIC "are still likely to be poorer on an average than individuals in the G6 economies by 2050". The exception would be Russia, which would catch up with the poorer among the G6 countries in terms of income per capita by 2050. China’s per capita income could be similar to where the developed countries are now (about $30,000 per capita per year) for, by 2050, the per capita income in the US would be roughly $80,000. By way of contrast, India’s per capita income would be a much lower $18,000 against around $50,000 in Russia and over $26,000 in Brazil, the report prognosticated.
A second report focusing only on India was written by Ms Purushothaman in April 2004 in which she pointed out that India and China (together account for 40 per cent of the world’s population) have both witnessed strong growth, both have surplus labour and both countries have diasporas to contribute to economic development. Yet, according to her, India was 10-15 years behind China in the "reform process", suggesting that better growth was yet to come in India.
Ongoing Economic Crisis
While pointing out the differences in economic orientation, Purushothaman did not mention the important political differences between the world’s two most populous nation-states: India is a heterogeneous, noisy, anarchic democracy while Chinese society is relatively more homogeneous, regimented and wary of granting its citizens excessive political freedom. On hindsight, it is also apparent that the BRIC report by the economists engaged by Goldman Sachs erred extremely on the side of caution. After the ongoing economic crisis, it has become apparent that the gap between the BRIC countries and the G6 would narrow at a much faster pace than had been anticipated.
India currently has no choice but to engage with Brazil, Russia and China in a more proactive manner, simultaneously competing and collaborating with them. Over the past three years, China has overtaken the United States as India’s largest trading partner. Russia, the world’s largest exporter of oil and natural gas, had been badly hit by the sharp fall in world oil prices but is expected to revive with oil prices firming up and expected to rise further. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) projected in April that Russia’s economy would grow by 0.5 per cent in 2010 after shrinking by six per cent during the current calendar year.
Changing Geo-Political Realities
With more than an element of hyperbole, there is no gainsaying the potential of Brazil becoming the "granary" of the planet, China the world’s "factory" and India, its "communications centre." Many in this country, particularly the Left, have been critical of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for his ideological "tilt" towards the imperialist and capitalist US and the West. But in today’s recession-hit world, economic ideologies have turned upside down and India certainly cannot ignore the rapidly-changing geo-political realities or the fast shift in global economic power balances.
There is one glaring omission in the BRIC combine that needs urgent rectification. The acronym needs to be made BRICS with the addition of the letter "S" to include South Africa, the most powerful economy in the continent of Africa. That would make the grouping truly representative of the world and, perhaps, even a formidable combination for the future.